Gbenga Olu Komolafe (born 1963) is a Nigerian engineer, lawyer and petroleum and gas industry expert. Appointed in 2021, he currently serves as the pioneer chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC.[1] [2] [3] He served at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in various capacities including as group general manager, Special Duties, group general manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division and executive director (commercial) Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company (PPMC). He is credited for formulating several strategic policies including electronic tracking of petroleum products distribution nationwide. Komolafe is a Fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers and a member of the Nigerian Bar Association.[4]
Gbenga Komolafe was born in 1963 in Igbara-Oke, Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. He had his primary and secondary education in Ondo State before proceeding to University of Ilorin where he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1987.[5] He earned master's degrees in industrial and labour relations (M.I.L.R.) in 1995 and industrial and production engineering in 1998 from the University of Ibadan before enrolling at the University of Benin where he earned a law degree in 2006. He attended Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2008. He attended International Petroleum Management Certificate Programme, Boston U.S.A and International Gas Business Management Certificate Programme, Offshore Training Conference (OTC), Houston, Texas. Komolafe is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and a Fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers and Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN).[6] [7]
Komolafe served in several policy making positions in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. From 2012 to 2014, he served as executive director (Commercial) Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company (PPMC) and was general manager operations Petroleum Equalization Fund where he introduced policies including electronic tracking of petroleum products for effective distribution to inner parts of the country.[8] He was general manager, Operations of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), group general manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division and group general manager, Special Duties at the NNPC. After the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) came into force in 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Komolafe as the pioneer chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC and was confirmed by the Senate in September same year.[9] [10] [11]